Bodie

School Superintendent Kathleen Bodie has accepted the resignation of high school Athletics Director Melissa Dlugolecki.

In a June 6 news release, Bodie wrote that the "resignation this week and the recent completion of a police investigation bring this difficult chapter regarding the Athletics Twitter account to an end."

She said that the administration will begin the search for a new athletic director for the high school.

The release says: "In January, based on Ms. Dlugolecki’s report to me that the Athletic Department Twitter account was hacked and the photo posted was not her photo, the incident was reported to the Arlington Police Department and an internal investigation was initiated. There have been many recent media reports about women and men who have been victims and whose reports have gone unbelieved and unaddressed for years. In the moment and without any evidence to the contrary, Ms. Dlugolecki's report appeared credible.

"The Arlington Police Department investigation concluded that the District Twitter account was not hacked and that the preponderance of evidence indicated that the posting of the photo came from an iPhone under her control. Principal Matthew Janger and I had trusted that Ms. Dlugolecki was telling us the truth.

"We are disappointed that our trust was misplaced. I apologize to the community for the distraction this incident has caused and for the time and resources expended by Arlington Police Department and Arlington Public Schools. Under the circumstances, they were necessary. Without further evidence or information from Ms. Dlugolecki to the police, the Police Department continued its investigation to determine whether the Twitter account had been hacked.

"What is particularly unfortunate is that while the allegations of hacking were being investigated there may have been aspersions or suggestions in the community that somehow a student could have been involved in hacking the account. That was not true. To our students and student-athletes, I am sorry if any suggestion or implication was ever made by anyone that a student or member of our school community may have hacked the account.

"This situation has prompted Arlington Public Schools to examine our social media protocols and policies. Some changes have already been implemented and we are still developing other recommendations, including the adoption of a new social media policy.

"Moving forward, we will begin the search for a new athletic director .... The screening and interview process, which includes participation from stakeholders in our school community, will follow the established search protocols and will start soon.

"We will be looking for a new director who will build upon the positive achievements accomplished in the athletic department over the past few years. The level of success achieved and the recognitions awarded resulted from the collaborative efforts of all members of the Arlington High School athletic community. We are proud of the excellent athletic program in the Arlington Public Schools and of the many achievements of our student athletes and we look forward to continuing to provide an outstanding program and to celebrate the successes of our student athletes.

May 30, 2018: AHS athletics director weighs options after tweet probe concludes

This news announcement was published Wednesday, June 6, 2018.